2006 (Freshman): Johnson played a total of 132 snaps in 13 games. He finished with four knockdowns against Louisiana Monroe. He recorded a season-high 37 snaps against Oklahoma State in the Independence Bowl. He also had 16 snaps against Florida International and 11 plays in the season opener against Hawaii.

Johnson is a natural bender who fires off the ball low and does a nice job of gaining initial leverage on contact. He creates a good initial jolt off the snap and has the power to create a push in the run game. Johnson does a great job of remaining balanced into blocks while keeping his pad level down throughout the play. He exhibits good placement at the point and has the body control to turn defenders away from the ball. He showcases good lateral agility in pass protection and possesses the body control and lateral quickness to slide his feet and stay on blocks through contact. Johnson does a good job of generating power from his lower half and walking defenders away from the play by consistently getting his hands under the chest plate of defenders. However, he can get a bit overextended at times and lacks the fluidity to redirect and stay on his man's counter-move.